Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the UK financial services sector surged in 2024, marking a 26% year-on-year increase in deal volumes and reaching the highest annual level since 2012, according to EY’s latest financial services M&A analysis.
Wealth and asset management firms led the charge, with growth in both the number and value of transactions. The number of deals in the UK wealth and asset management sector rose from 107 in 2023 to 122 in 2024.
Meanwhile, total publicly disclosed deal value skyrocketed from £2.1bn to £9.3bn, which EY suggested reflected an appetite for strategic consolidation and expansion.
Across the broader financial services industry, 380 deals were disclosed in 2024, compared to 272 in 2023. The total disclosed value jumped from £12.5bn to £20.2bn.
Non-UK firms acquiring UK targets completed 74 deals in 2024, up from 54 in the previous year, though the disclosed value of these deals fell to £3.9bn from £6.7bn in 2023. In contrast, UK firms acquiring overseas targets closed 97 deals, up from 65, while the overall deal value remained flat at £1.7bn.
EY UK financial services strategy and transactions leader Damian Hourquebie said: "UK financial services M&A activity reached its highest annual volume in more than a decade in 2024, as material signs of economic recovery lifted market confidence, valuations rose, and inbound deals increased.
"While there are real signs for optimism, a sense of macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions further abroad could create headwinds as we look to the year ahead.
"However, if the UK's economic outlook continues to gradually improve as expected, we anticipate the focus on M&A activity will continue throughout 2025 as confidence grows and firms accelerate plans to transform."
